The Forty Rules of Love is a novel written by the Turkish author Elif Shafak,[1][2][3] Her interest in writing this book was influenced by the degree she received in Gender and Women’s Studies.[4] The book was published in March 2009.[5] It is about Maulana Jalal-Ud-Din, known as Rumi and his companion Shams Tabrizi.[6][7] This book explains how Shams transformed a scholar into a Sufi (mystic) through love.[8] More than 750,000 copies of this book were sold in Turkey and France.[9]
Author | Elif Shafak |
---|---|
Country | Turkey |
Language | English |
Genre | Literary Fiction |
Publisher | Penguin Books |
Publication date | March 2009 |
Pages | 354 |
Awards | Prix ALEF* - Mention Spéciale Littérature Etrangère |
ISBN | 9780141047188 |
"A novel within a novel, The Forty Rules of Love tells two parallel stories that mirror each other across two very different cultures and seven intervening centuries."[10] It starts when a housewife, Ella, gets a book called Sweet Blasphemy for an appraisal.[11] This book is about a thirteenth century poet, Shams Tabrizi, who was the spiritual teacher to Rumi.[10] The book presents Shams's Forty Love Rules at different intervals.[12][13] Sweet Blasphemy was structured in a way to focus on the five elements of nature: Water, Air, Earth, Fire and Void. The chapters in each section revealed a story in line with the nature of each element.[14] The story presented in the novel is based on "love and spirituality that explains what it means to follow your heart".[15]
Every chapter of the book starts with letter "b".[11] It is because the secret of Quran lies in Surah Al-Fatiha and its spirit is contained in the phrase Bismillah ir Rehman ir Rahim (In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent and the most Merciful).[16] The first Arabic letter of the Bismillah has a dot below it that symbolizes the Universe as per Sufism thoughts.[17]
The Forty Rules of Love won Prix ALEF* - Mention Spéciale Littérature Etrangère.[18] It was also nominated for the 2012 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.[18] On 5 November 2019 BBC News listed The Forty Rules of Love on its list of the 100 most influential novels. It was included in the "Love, Sex & Romance - February" category of Novels That Shaped Our World.[19][20]
The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.